"Assassin’s Creed Shadows Hits 1 Million Players on Launch Day: Ubisoft"

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has hit the ground running, with Ubisoft proudly announcing that it surpassed 1 million players on its launch day. The game, which debuted on March 20 across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, achieved this milestone before 4pm in Canada. Ubisoft expressed their gratitude and excitement on social media, stating, “It's not even 4pm here in Canada and Assassin's Creed Shadows has already passed 1 million players! Thank YOU from the bottom of our hearts for joining this adventure in Feudal Japan. We are beyond excited to start this journey with you!”

While reaching 1 million players in a single day is a notable accomplishment, gauging the game's overall success remains challenging without specific sales figures or targets from Ubisoft. However, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has secured the top spot on Steam's global sales chart, indicating it is currently generating the highest revenue on the platform. Early data from Steam also shows that the game reached a peak concurrent player count of 41,412 on its launch day. Given that the game was released on a Thursday, it's anticipated that these numbers will increase over the weekend. We'll gain a clearer understanding of its performance on Steam in the coming weeks, though neither Sony nor Microsoft disclose player numbers publicly.

For comparison, BioWare’s single-player RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard, launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, achieved a peak of 70,414 players on the same platform.

The Complete Assassin's Creed Timeline

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The release of Assassin's Creed Shadows comes at a critical time for Ubisoft, following numerous delays and the commercial disappointment of last year’s Star Wars Outlaws. The company has faced significant challenges, including several high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to this launch.

Assassin's Creed Shadows has not been without controversy, particularly in Japan. In response to concerns raised by Japanese politicians about the depiction of in-game temples and shrines, Ubisoft released a day-one patch addressing these issues. The matter even reached the Japanese government, where politician Hiroyuki Kada and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba discussed the game in an official meeting.

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Early Skills Tier List

On Steam, the reception to Assassin's Creed Shadows has been overwhelmingly positive, with 82% of nearly 4,000 user reviews rating the game positively, earning it a 'very positive' user review rating. IGN’s review awarded the game an 8/10, praising its refined open-world mechanics: “By sharpening the edges of its existing systems, Assassin’s Creed Shadows creates one of the best versions of the open-world style it’s been honing for the last decade.”

Amidst these developments, reports suggest that Ubisoft’s founding Guillemot family and its largest shareholder are in discussions with Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout that would allow them to maintain control of the company.